Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The Hunt Begins

Chapter 80:

The Hunt Begins

Little Asia. It was beautiful with its neon lights and holograms of advertisements. While there was nowhere in Neo City, besides possibly South Canal, where you couldn't see such things, Little Asia was above the rest. Especially at its heart, where the atmosphere was like that of a bazaar and a casino combined. This area was called Arcade Plaza.

Gambling wasn't illegal in Neo City, though there were some exceptions. Because of this, there were many pachinko machines and other slots that were playable and exchangeable for cash and other prizes. There were arcades and markets, with food stalls lining the streets.

A lot of the markets sold synthetic foods and were owned by Lotus Corp, which was based out of Japan. They had a headquarters in New Eden, but it couldn't compare to the Empyrean or St.Claire Industries. That wasn't to say they were a small corporation.

From what Jace knew, the corporation was under the direct influence of the Empress of Japan. She was quite famous and beloved by her people, of course that was just on the surface. Lotus Corp was like any other corporation. They owned their workers.

Jace had seen how the low tier employees were treated. They were worked hard, but they were efficient. At the very least, it gave people a living, if you could call it that.

Still, Little Asia was a home away from home for some. Those who immigrated from their countries in Asia found refuge or solace in the familiarity and comforts of Little Asia. It was very reminiscent of a lot of their homelands, though it took a particularly heavy influence from Japan, due to Lotus Corps influence.

All of this didn't matter to Jace, however, as he came here for one reason. Konda Shogo.

It took Jace two days to find him. During that time, he spent it gathering information and observing. Arcade Plaza one of the best places to hear about things going on both in Little Asia and outside. The street vendors in particular were quite talkative with their customers.

That's how Jace found his way to Vice Alley. A back-alley paradise for those looking for a good time. Little Asia's Red-Light District. It was hidden through the twists and turns of the districts streets, not far from Arcade Plaza.

As its name suggests, you could find almost any vice you wanted here. "He really is hiding here..." Jace could only shake his head in disbelief. Shogo was hiding right under their noses, which proved to Jace that someone was protecting him.

This was made even more apparent as Jace watched from the shadows above the alley. Hidden among the crevices between buildings, he listened in to a group of three techno dragons below him. They wore rave pants, with chains and other adornments on them.

Gas masks with unique designs to look like the jaws of a dragon covered their lower face. Some had neon tubes to give their masks a bit of glow and menace. Most also had a tattoo of a dragon, techno and mechanical in appearance, upon their body. Though the ones below him wore it upon their jackets. It was the typical appearance of the Techno Dragons, as the name would suggest.

"Have you heard from Yamato?" One of them spoke quietly.

They were a woman with a slight Japanese accent. The sides of her head were shaved, and what was left of her dark pink hair in the middle was tied back in a tight braid. Her coat hung open to reveal a dark tube top and a rather fit body. Signs of cybernetics could be seen running along her skin and midriff.

Even as the snow fell slowly in the area, and the cold permeated everywhere, she seemed to be unfazed. The two men she was talking to seemed to be bundled up more. One of them was rather tall and bulky with a shaved head. The other was small and lanky with a full head of hair tied back in a tied manbun.

Jace took a bite of the mitarashi dango he had bought. Its sweetness and warmth filling staving off the cold. It was his favorite street sweet, which was found in Little Asia, and very rarely outside of it.

"Not since..." The big man spoke in a deep voice with a thick Japanese accent; pausing, he looked around before continuing to speak, "Not since Shogo returned."

"Honestly, what the hell was he thinking?" The small, lanky man spoke with, his accent almost nonexistent, "Why is Yamato protecting him? The heads will have our heads if they know we're involved..."

"Shut up, you fool," The woman snapped in a hushed tone, "They won't know if we keep our mouths shut. I don't know what's got into the leaders, but something is going on."

"Saeko's right," The big man agreed quietly, "They're distracted by something. As long as we wait this out, it should all blow over soon. Relax, Hiiro."

"...You don't know the Vixens, Haru," Hiiro sighed, shaking his head, "You think they'll let this go? That it'll blow over? Both of you are delusional."

There was a bit of tension between the three of them before Saeko sighed.

"I hear you, Hiiro," She admitted reluctantly, shaking her head, "But if we don't listen to Yamato, you know what he'll do. Shogo is his only nephew. If anything happens to him, it'll be our heads...So, let's just return with the supplies, yeah?"

"Fine..." Hiiro raised his hands in defeat.

Finishing the last bit of dango from the stick, Jace sucked the sticky glaze from his thumb that had found itself there. "Lead the way..." He smirked, placing the empty dango stick with the others. A total of ten dango sticks were now in his collection.

As they made their way through Vice Alley, Jace followed silently from above. Making his way from dark corner to dark corner. Sometimes having to leap across the way to ensure he kept up. Utilizing the methods he learned, he was able to silence his footsteps, landing safely and quietly.

The trio eventually turned into an offshoot of Vice Alley. A place where there were very few red lanterns and even less people. From the looks of it, it was a residential area for the workers. Still, even here there were people and places plying their trade.

It was a lot easier to follow here, as fire escapes now dotted the outside walls of the buildings. With soft footsteps he followed them all the way to a door at a dead end. It was nondescript, with two Techno Dragons sitting on chairs around a small barrel fire.

As the three approached, the two guards looked up. Lifting up the bag she was carrying, they nodded and pointed to the door.

"Third floor," One of the guards, a young man spoke in Japanese, Jace's translator kicking in, "A girl was brought to alleviate his boredom. He's having some fun."

"...Sick fuck," The woman muttered in Japanese, "Let's drop this off and be gone."

The other two with her nodded, and the three of them headed inside. "Fun, huh? I doubt it...at least for the girl." Jace had to hurry. If he acted like he did at the Vixens brothel, the girl may be in bad shape.

He didn't want to confront the entirety of the Yakuza, so he had to be a bit stealthy with this. Looking up the building, he smiled. Fourth floor, a window was open. "Gotta love the fresh winter air..." Chuckling to himself, Jace closed his eyes and started his music.

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The rhythmic sound began to pulse with deep bass and energetic notes. It allowed him to focus. Channeling his mana, he moved it to the soles of his feet. At the same time, he enhanced and reinforced his legs. With a single kick, he was able to leap from the second story fire escape he was on, and up to the fourth-floor fire escape of the building he was aiming for.

His hand grabbing the railing, he vaulted himself over silently. His mana a cushion for any possible sound. Feeling the beat of his music inside of him, he made his way to the open window. He crouched down so as to not be seen. Peaking in, he saw what was a small kitchen.

There was currently no one inside, and it seemed to be a drug factory. Upon the kitchen table was a setup of beakers, burners, tubes, and jugs. There was a bit of automation going on as a blue liquid dripped slowly into a small, injector like inhaler that acted as its container. As Jace nimbly made his way into the window, one of the inhalers finished as a mechanical arm took it, placed it in a crate, then put an empty one back.

Immediately, Jace knew what this was and his blood ran cold. "Mana Stims..." Cursing to himself, he had to take a deep breath as memories flooded into his mind. It was in this moment that everything he has done so far, and all that he has accomplished came in handy. Just like with his meditation, he allowed it to wash over him.

The thought of those waiting back home helped to calm his quickening heart. "I can't be reckless." Jace had to accept the reality. Destroying Mana Stims was tricky. If he wasn't careful, it would lead to the same type of fallout that harmed his mother.

The reason the window was open was for ventilation and cooling. It was extremely warm inside this kitchen. The most he could do right now was halt the process. He had to do so quickly, and so canned the room for what was controlling it all.

A laptop that was plugged into a lot of machinery caught his attention. It sat on the counter of the kitchen, and it was where Jace made his way too. Sure enough as he looked at the screen, it was in the middle of processing all the programs needed to control the creation of the Mana Stims.

However, the moment he went to touch it, it asked for a password that he didn't have.

"Fuck..." Jace muttered, not having time to figure this out.

Of course, he couldn't just leave it either. Which is why an idea popped into his head. Taking pictures of the laptop and Mana Stim setup, he contacted the one person he knew could help.

>To Kiera: Hey...can you access a laptop through me?

>From Kiera: It's possible...why?

>To Kiera: Sending you images. If you can access this place through me, please. Shut this

all down. [FILES ATTACHED]

With the images sent, Jace made his way from the kitchen. An open archway led into a narrow hallway to the right. Following it, there were several rooms with their doors closed. Jace bothered with none of them as the hallway eventually came to the living room and entryway.

He paused, opening his senses as mana flowed through him. This allowed him to sense the two people in the living room before he saw them. He could even sense their movement. Breathing evenly, he felt a lot less burden on his body than he would have in the past.

He could never forget how grateful he was for Selene and Kiera's help with his magic training, especially Selene who taught him how to flow his mana better. The strain was almost negligible as two different types of buffs were placed upon him.

Feeling the now empty dango sticks, he palmed two of them in his hand. They were wooden but watching Arthur had given Jace some inspiration and improved upon techniques that he had used in the past. As he prepared to confront the two standing in his way of the door out, Kiera messaged him back.

>From Kiera: I'd be more than happy to help you.

>From Kiera: I appreciate you trusting me with this. In more ways than one.

>To Kiera: Of course I trust you. So, will it hurt?

>From Kiera: Only if you want it to. ;) <3 Lol, I'm only kidding. I'll be gentle. You might feel

a bit warm though.

>To Kiera: On a cold night like this? It's more than welcome. :P <3

Just as he finished sending the message, he channeled a thin veil of mana around the sticks and tossed them in quick succession. He had fortified their structure and guided them to where they needed to be. It wasn't as proficient as Arthur, but it did the job.

Hitting each of them at the base of the skull, the now wooden needles penetrated deep with a sickening thwack. Their bodies tensing before falling to the floor, dead. "Fucking mana stim producers..." Jace felt no remorse for the two Yakuza as he stood confidently and made his way to the door.

Just as he did, he felt his body warm up like he had just taken a drink of warm cider. In his vision a kissy face followed by a winking emoji played. In his ears, his music turned down as a voice came over it.

"You're getting better," Kiera spoke softly, her voice a bit distorted, "I got the rest of this. Don't worry. Do what you have to and return to us safely."

"Consider it already done," Jace replied, unsure if she could hear him or not, a small smile upon his face.

A parade of pixelated hearts floated before his vision, causing his smile to widen and a soft chuckle to escape his lips. His heart looked forward to returning, though his mind turned towards the rest of the mission. Around him, electronics were going haywire, with the TV screen displaying "<3 YOU CAN DO IT! <3" before he made his way out of the apartment.

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